Sofia, June 4 (BTA) - The 60/40 job retention measure will
remain in effect for two more months (June and July), Bulgarian
caretaker Deputy Prime Minister for Economic and Social Policy
and Labour and Social Policy Minister Galab Donev told a news
briefing at the Council of Ministers on Friday.
   
Statistics show that the economy is recovering and returning
back to normal turnovers and employment levels for Bulgaria, he
pointed out.
    
"Additional stimuli are being developed jointly with the
ministries of finance and economy, so that Bulgarian business,
Bulgarian employers and employees could feel solid State support
 for the implementation of their regular economic activities,"
Donev said.
     
The 60/40 measure will continue for another two months within
the notified amount of State aid: 1.5 billion leva. Slightly
over 1.4 billion leva have been disbursed so far. The balance
will be spent to keep the measure going with some adjustments of
 eligibility thresholds after the European Commission unit in
charge of State aid, Donev said.
  
The National Council for Tripartite Cooperation is expected to
meet next week for consultations on the parameters of the
measure.
   
The Government proposes a guarantee under which nearly 250
million leva will be available for guarantees of loans
contracted by small and medium-sized enterprises, caretaker
Finance Minister Assen Vassilev and Economy Minister Kiril
Petkov said at the news briefing.
  
Under the programme, the State will cover 50 per cent of the
bank risk incurred by business. An agreement has already been
reached with banks to waive collateral requirements for new
loans to SMEs and extend them within ten days of the submission
of the application. The loans will be extended to the companies
by the banks they use, and the maximum amount that can be
borrowed will be equivalent to 70 per cent of the enterprises'
revenues for 2019 or 2020. The maturity will be seven years, and
 the interest will be low, Petkov told BTA.
   
Vassilev said he is drawing up a Bulgarian Economic Recovery
Programme. A revision of the state budget is also being drafted,
 restructuring the expenditures without increasing the
government debt limit, the Finance Minister said.

The Bulgarian prosecution service will check the operation and
debts of a company previously owned by National Revenue Agency
(NRA) Director General Rumen Spetsov, Vassilev said without
specifying a timeframe for the check. Soon after Spetsov was
appointed to the office, it transpired that Granex Trader, a
company that he sold in April 2016, owes the Exchequer 1.1
million leva which are still outstanding. The NRA has said that
the huge debt was built up after the sale. RY/BR/LG